June 2018 Epitaph

2018 Goals & Initial Planning

The wrap-up and planning meeting was held at the clubhouse on 11/11/17.

To begin the meeting the results of the 2017 cruising season were reviewed:

Average Boats/Cruise – 9

Boats Participating – 25

Members Participating – 52

The group quickly noted that our cruise leaders were the cogs that really made the program’s inaugural year successful and recognized our 2017 leaders:

John and Beth Hiner

Charlie Batchelor

Jim and Joni Floyd

Jerry and Mal Harwood

Joe and Kathy Gormley

The group further noted that it was now time to move forward and to continue the focus given to the group in 2017 by the Commodore and Board:

• To increase member participation in club activities.
• To get more boats out on the water.
• Develop friendships and comradery.The group further noted that it was now time to move forward and to continue the focus given to the group in 2017 by the Commodore and Board:
  • To increase member participation in club activities.
  • To get more boats out on the water.
  • Develop friendships and camaraderie.

  During the evening, Dave and Tami Howard were recognized as attending the most cruises with five and were presented, in absentia, with a cockpit knife. Other awards were presented to the following to memorialize events during the season: Andy/Sally Johnson, Dave/Gay Whitney, Claire/Dieter Trautmann, Jerry/Mal Harwood, Laurna/Jergen Badendieck, Chesley Sugg, among others.  Jim Floyd and Sally Johnson also drew names for door prizes.

  In order to improve on 2017 results, it was decided to set a goal to increase participation in the Full Moon Cruising Program by 25%.

  It was decided to have four sub-committees. One to oversee large cruisers, one for small cruisers, one for impromptu cruisers, and one to plan some frostbite cruises. The goal of all cruises continues to be camaraderie.

  Discussions included adding long cruises of one to four weeks, cruises that provide small cruisers with opportunities to cruise new cruising grounds by trailering, day sailing cruises, short overnights, holiday weekend cruises, and adding Hancock Creek as a destination to easily combine large and small cruisers together in a single cruise. The focus of all of our cruises will continue to be camaraderie and we will still have included the same type cruises that we had in 2017.

  In order to get 2018 planned for a strong kick-off, it was agreed that we would have a Small Cruiser Planning Meeting the 2^nd week in January and a Large Cruiser Planning Meeting the 3^rd week in January.

  John & Beth Hiner and Ron & Debbie Leo have agreed to assume the Leadership for the Small Cruiser portion of the program and will lead the January Small Cruisers meeting.

  We look forward to another year of sailing with friends and invite everyone to join in part or all of the BSC Full Moon Cruising Program.

   

   

 

Number 6 is in the books…and then there were four!

Cruise 6 began on a Friday, October 20 to be exact, with folks leaving the docks all afternoon. Angela and Ed Weber on Longview, Steve Youngson on Restless, Wes Jorgenson on Endeavor, Bruce Woods and Al Schroeder on Last One, Mark and Mary Hittner on Miss Mary, Jerry and Mal Harwood on Magic Spirit II, Gay and Dave Whitney on Silent Pursuit, and Joe and Kathy Gormley on Tarsie all enjoyed the sunset in Cedar Creek.  There were no incidents of note – thank goodness!

On Saturday morning, Gay and Dave Whitney headed back to Blackbeard’s with Minnie, having survived the night.  It was Miss Minnie’s first time aboard, and they figured to quit while ahead!  Maybe next time, Gay!

The rest of the group ventured on to Morehead, out the inlet and dropped anchor early afternoon on Saturday in the bight.  Hey, Wes…that’s not the way to Lookout!

The gang finally gathered on Magic Spirit II late afternoon for the usual goodies and libations. The entertainment was provided by Jim and Joni Floyd on Salty, as they anchored…anchored…and anchored…to the encouragement of the group!  Finally, we got far enough away from the Coast Guard buoy (Thanks Steve!) to be safe from late night training exercises!  Many thanks to Steve Youngson, again, for rescuing us with his dinghy as we just didn’t have the energy to get our own going!  Anyway, another successful sunset “sundowner” in the books!  (BTW where are these apocryphal “books” everyone keeps talking about??? Huh??)

Saturday dawned on an absolutely gorgeous day at the Cape…blue skies, high puffy clouds, gentle breezes, soft waves, clear water – it was yummy!  (Now THAT’S a nautical term for you!)

At this time, we were 8 boats at anchor…wait!  What’s that?  Mal thinks Jerry may have scratched his cornea when he lost his contact lens, and they wanted to get back to home port to his ophthalmologist … so there were 7.  Oops,  Bruce and Al were watching the weather forecast (what a silly thing to do on such a beautiful day!) and decided to head back early…so now there were 6. Wait!  Wes  decided to join them in an early return.  So now there were 5.  Oh, Mark and Mary Hittner decided to head back to Beaufort with Miss Mary to trailer her home.  So now there were 4…Ok, that’s it! Everyone else to the beach!

Whether people walked the cut-through, around the end of the bight (did you know there is now a lagoon at the end?) or up past the fishermen, everyone agreed it was a perfect day at the beach!  Late afternoon found us all on a sand bar uncovered by the tide with our hot dog forks, kindling and marsh mellows ready!  Jim, Ed, Steve and Joe got the fire going while Joni, Kathy and Angela cheered them on from the sidelines.  Horrors!  Mal took the graham crackers with her when they left. What a tragedy!  Oh well, the graham crackerless s’mores tasted great anyway!

Did I mention that pesky front coming in?

Kathy and Joe, with their radar, got up well before dawn to take advantage of the tide at the inlet, while the rest of us (Salty, Restless and Longview) had to wait til first light.  Of course, by the time we got to the inlet the tide had turned and we three had to fight it all the way to Cedar Creek!

And of course, the wind was on the nose…but as soon as we passed the ferries, we could put up the sails, right?  Wrong!

Black skies, roiling layers of clouds, torrential rain and gusting winds took care of that!  One by one, we all docked back home.  Steve took the top prize with single-handing Restless into her slip in 20 knot cross winds!  Whew!

All in all, it was a great weekend and we all cannot wait to go back and STAY LONGER!!

Included in all or part of the adventure were: Salty, Mystic, Chanceux, Hot Chocolate, Voyager, Endeavor, Flighty Girl, Escape, Encore, Team Elite, Spotted Dog, Miss Fayzee, Ambiance, and Magic Spirit II.

A brave series of yachts set sail on a mid-June voyage to River Dunes.  At our first stop, South River presented some partner “bonding opportunities” when it came to setting anchor in shifting waters with windy conditions.  Magic Spirit II and Encore rafted up and the party began, and continued as “Uber pick-up” made the rounds. Plenty of fixin’s to share, camaraderie, and “there might have been some alcohol involved-Capt Ron.”

River Dunes managed to get all 14 of us settled in and the pool quickly became a popular spot with bar and hot tub.  There is a front porch for all, and great area for walking.  A delicious buffet featured poached salmon, chicken, roast beef, veggies and irresistible desserts. Fire pits were an option after dinner, but rain and bug threats were real.

 

A couple of us planned to continue to Okracoke, but the weather gods had alternate plans.  All made it safely back to BSC ready for the next adventure.

For those of you who decided not to join the cruisers this month, you missed a lot of excitement and fun!  After the captains conferred Friday afternoon, they decided to GO, despite the heat, humidity and rolling thunderstorms!

The fun started soon after Salty (Jim/Joni Floyd and John/Beth Hiner), Spotted Dog (Dave/Tami Howard), Escape (Clare/Dieter Trautman), Mystic (Laurna/Jeurgen Badendieck) sailed away from Blackbeard’s. As we veered around day marker #2, we heard a shriek and a splash from Escape next to Salty.  It appeared that Clare slipped on the bow, fell to her knees and rolled under the lifelines.  Dieter quickly threw her a cushion and performed a textbook rescue while the rest of our little fleet stood by.  She recovered nicely and insisted on continuing. So, after a mid-river conference, that is exactly what we did!

Although the wind was picking up (Spotted Dog saw gusts of 30+), we all reefed down and motor-sailed up to New Bern with little trouble.  The sky darkened, but no rain fell on us at THAT time.

YOU may know that the Cunningham Bridge at New Bern does not open from 4-6 pm on Fridays…WE did not!  We all arrived, more or less at the same time, about 5:30 and did “donuts” outside the entry for thirty minutes, waiting for “our turn.”  You could ask Spotted Dog and Mystic about the intricacies of maneuvering around each other while keeping an eye on approaching thunderheads, but I suggest that you not.  Suffice it to say, no permanent damage was done to either boat.  It was a total “no-fault” encounter!

After a friendly wave from the bridge tender, we all motored over to the free dock area of Grand Marina, which had been reserved for our group – thanks to the kind dock master.  Salty pulled in first, then Escape, then Mystic with Spotted Dog at the pump-out.  Next to the pump-out, about 6 feet away, Tami spotted a floating log…floating upstream and with two beady eyes! We all kept a close eye on that fella, but he seemed to be well-satisfied that we were not encroaching.

After dinner at Christoph’s (seafood buffet was delicious!), and after much discussion, the captains decided to proceed with our night sail, confident that the storms would hold off until after we got home.  HA! We exited the Cunningham Bridge (instead of waving, the bridge tender just shook his head) just as the first drops began to fall about 8:15 pm. As we passed under the concrete bridges, we could still see through the rain… just!  The gentle rain became a downpour…became a torrent…became a deluge…became…well, you get the idea!  Was there thunder and lightning all around us?  Yes!  But what a light show!  All the sea monsters in the river circled our fleet all the way home, gnawing on the rudders and chewing on the lifelines… just sailing in the dark, lightning and rain was a real… thrill?  Yeah, let’s call it that.

Hunkered down as best we could (Beth even refused to leave Salty’s cockpit for a dry cabin!) and keeping a close eye on each other, our little fleet motored down to Upper Broad Creek.  This time, it was Mystic who “almost” took out day marker #3 (no,no Laurna… go to the right, the Right, the RIGHT – thatta girl!).  Home sweet harbor… by the time Salty entered her slip, we had lots of help – high fives all around!  Thanks guys!

Over blueberry pancakes, bacon and coffee the next morning, we all agreed that our night sail would prove valuable should we ever find ourselves again in a “dark and stormy night.”  AND we swore to each other not to tell the story to anyone who was not there… so keep this story to yourself!

PS: if you don’t believe my report, just ask one of the others named!